I've been tempted by the looks of DC:Warsaw to Paris - I've been reading very positive comments about it, and the interface looks quite good (by wargame standards). Seeing that it is on sale now seems an excellent opportunity.

However - what is holding me back is concerns about the limited number of scenarios - especially when considering that some might not suit me. As far as I understand it, there are five scenarios in the game (Review quote: "You can play Case White, Case Yellow, and Operation Sea Lion as well as two mini-scenarios Bzura and Netherlands.")

My concern is however about the size of the scenarios - I am not really into it for huge scenarios, much preferring ones that can be finished in one (long) evening (or two at the very most).

I expect the mini-scenarios should be okay... but what about the other three? Roughly how big are they - how many turns, and how many units per side? If the two mini ones are the only ones playable by me, I doubt I would get enough replay value from this title to defend the cost.

I am not sure any of the scenarios are short enough for an evening of play...I play slow though. In comparison to all other operational games I play (WitE, WitPAE, TOAW III, PzC, Anglo-German War), DC plays the fastest and smoothest. It may take me two or three evenings to play out (again, I play slow so YMMV) but it is very enjoyable and it is easy to leave a scenario and come back to it...which can be an issue with some operational games as you have to spend a half an hour trying to figure out what you were doing and what you were trying to do...it is not the case with DC, very user friendly but deceptively deep. If you have any love for operational games...DC is IMHO a no-brainer...especially with the current sale.

If you are looking for a game that plays quicker, Unity of Command might be more suitable. However, DC is one of the best war games to come out in a while. What I find to be special about this game are both it's scale and the combat mechanics. I feel the scenarios themselves are pretty interesting as well - Poland, France, and Operation Sea Lion all in one package. I couldn't name you another game based on Operation Sea Lion!

Divisions are broken down to regiments, and both roads and railroads are represented on the map. Bridges can be destroyed and repaired and I feel that adds more depth to the game. There is a card system in place that is a slick way to make strategic decisions like a general would(buy new units, motivate troops, ect). The game looks great by the way and has a beautiful map with very nice unit art.

This game deserves way more attention than it gets. I'm very much looking forward to the next game in the series, Case Blue. Grab DC while it's on sale!

gabeeg: TOAW III, and AGW, along with Advanced Tactics Gold are my main alternatives. TOAW comes with so many scenarios so that even if only a tenth of them suite me, I'll still have a lot to do. AGW also comes with quite a big range of scenarios. Still, DC is tempting, and what you say matches what I've heard elsewhere.

WilliePete: I already have (and enjoy) Unity of Command, but was looking for something moderately more complex and bigger... but without going into many hundreds of hours campaigns territory. The UoC scenarios I've played so far take about an hour or two to get through... I'd be comfortable with scenarios taking 4-6 hours. But 30+ (or 100+) hours is too much for me!

I like the looks of the card system - coming from a boardgame background, there have been lots of experimentation in boardgames about bringing both historicity and interesting decisions into games without overburdening them with complexity - if some of those ideas can spread to computer wargames, I think that will bode will for the future.

As for another game with Sea Lion... I've got HPS' The First Blitzkrieg, which includes Poland, France and Sea Lion... but much less appealing interface than DC, as well as too big scenarios (not all of them, but a lot of them are huge).

As far as DC: Case Blue, I just read this in a preview: "over 150 Generals each having their own stats and biographies.

Overwhelmed already?

[This] is a much bigger, longer game lasting one year with two days per turn, with 700 to 800 units per side, each hex representing 10 kilometers with maps that can be as large as 160 by 125 hexes, as in the case of the campaign scenario map spanning from Kiev to Baku."

Yuck! Yes, I am overwhelmed. 180+ turns, enormous maps, way too high unit counts... no matter how much I enjoy the game's systems, I doubt I'd be able to enjoy such monster scenarios.

I've had a hankering to try my hand at an operational level wargame - something I haven't wanted to do in quite some time. DC looks like it would make for a great return point. But I have one question:

Are you limited to playing the game from the German side? Or can you play the game from the British, Polish, etc. perspective?

I've had a hankering to try my hand at an operational level wargame - something I haven't wanted to do in quite some time. DC looks like it would make for a great return point. But I have one question:

Are you limited to playing the game from the German side? Or can you play the game from the British, Polish, etc. perspective?

You can play each scenario from either side. The campaign game is only from the German point of view.

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